Target shooting at ARMSCOR in Makati Cinema Square

September 26, 2010

Last week, my wife’s been itching to try her hands in shooting a gun in a firing range. Luckily, we learned that our friend Karl is a member of ARMSCOR (Arms Corporation of the Philippines) so he agreed to accompany us last Friday at an ARMSCOR Shooting Range in Makati Cinema Square.

It would be Tia’s first time to shoot a gun and she was pumped. When we got there, Karl took care of using his membership card so we only need to pay for the bullets and the target sheets.

If you have a friend who’s a member of ARMSCOR, he/she can bring 1 guest inside the firing range and get huge discounts. I stayed in the viewing area because there’s a range fee of Php200 for the 2nd guest.

You can choose to have any number of bullets but Tia opted for 20 to start with. She got her 9mm pistol, bullets and target paper and then proceeded to the staging area to get a pair of goggles and earmuffs. Richard, who acted as her instructor, led her and Karl to the actual firing range.

If you’re a newbie, don’t worry since the instructor will teach you the basics and give you some pointers as well. Richard taught Tia how to load the bullets in the magazine, slap it in the pistol and cock the gun. He also taught Tia the correct stance and form when firing a gun.

Tia had a very nice, overall experience. In fact, she asked for 20 more bullets after spending the first 20. She says it’s a great and addicting way to de-stress. The gun was a bit heavy for her but she managed to hit the target with all the bullets. Even hit the target in the center circle once.

We paid Php382 for the whole session which took us more than 1 hour since Tia took a lot of break between shots to rest her arms.

(40 bullets x Php9) + (2 target paper x Php11) = Php382.

Don’t forget to tip your instructor.

Thank you Karl for accompanying us to ARMSCOR and taking the photos inside the firing range!

ARMSCOR Shooting Centre Rates

Here’s the cost if you’re not a member or don’t have a member to accompany you:

Php1000 inclusive of the following:

50 bullets of reloads (Php12 each) = Php600

Range fee = Php200 per head

Gun Rental = Php200 per firearm

Target paper = Php11 each

If you bring your own bullet, there’s a corkage fee of Php6 per bullet.

Now if you’re hook into shooting, you can join the gun club. It’s Php2500 per year and the cost of renewal is Php2000. For foreigners, registration is Php5000 per year.

i don’t know if you will believe me (but you should), but i used to compete when i was younger (back when my eyes were still very good). my dad, being in the military, and once president of PAF Gun Club, kinda forced a gun into my hand (just kidding). Well, he had me learn his aide and then after one whole summer, I loved it.

I competed for awhile, won once (with trophy ha) but it was an all-women competition. i haven’t held a gun since i left for london, which was 3rd yr high school, but i think i wanna try again. maybe just to see how bad i am now???

that was my dad’s plan before, cus we had this brother and sister in the gun club who competes internationally. my sister (6 years my junior) learned how to fire guns with me… she’s better (everyone says so) cus i was older and she was almost competing with me. hehehe! well, she’s boyish too, so she has weird advantage.

when i remember it, i regret na we didn’t continue it. we left for london abruptly and didn’t get back until after 3yrs so a lot changed… feel ko if we didn’t leave, baka i could be hired as a snipper na! bwahahahahaha!